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The following press release reinforces Integrail's continuing commitment to using the best methodologies in all Integrail Products and Services.

May 28th, 2002

Press Release

SOURCE: Symmetry Health Data Systems, Inc.

ERG(TM) Performed Best in Predicting Future Resource Use

Symmetry's Product Ranked Among Leading Risk Prediction Models

PHOENIX, May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study of leading health care industry risk assessment methodologies has found Symmetry Health Data Systems, Inc.'s Episode Risk Groups(TM) (ERG) to be the best method for "predicting future resource use." ERG was the only tool in the study to use medical and pharmaceutical data, and it outperformed competing models in a number of areas, particularly in assessing an individual's future health risk and expenditures.

In the study, "A Comparative Analysis of Claims-based Methods of Health Risk Assessment for Commercial Populations," findings show that ERG outperformed all other tested models in assessing prospective risk (using past data to predict future risk trends), and worked extremely well in assessing concurrent risks (using current data to predict risk over the current period). Conducted by Milliman USA and Park Nicollet Institute Health Research Center, the study was published by the Society of Actuaries on their Web site: www.SOA.org. The researchers do not endorse any particular risk adjuster, and have not been involved in the development or marketing of any risk adjusters involved in the study.

"Given the quality of our competitors' products, the variety of statistical measurements used, and the high rankings received by ERGs, we are gratified that ERG 1.0 were so well regarded in this study," says Symmetry's co-founder and COO Mitchell Portnoy, MPH. "We will continue to update ERG to offer clients flexibility in their applications."

"ERGs have undergone significant testing by our customers and our own research team, and we have demonstrated their ability to predict health risk for a wide range of populations and health plans," says Dan Dunn Ph.D., of Integrated Health Care Information Systems, Inc. (IHCIS), of Waltham, Massachusetts, Symmetry's partner in the development of ERG. "This comprehensive study confirms our expectations. ERG provides a powerful and cost effective solution for health risk assessment."

The number of insured Americans covered by companies using Episode Risk Groups approaches 45 million lives. ERG is a derivative work based on Symmetry's Episode Treatment Group(TM) (ETG) methodology, the most widely used software product of its kind. More than 400 health care organizations currently use ETGs, a patented illness classification and episode building software product that accurately assigns all healthcare claims data, regardless of origin, into episodes of care. When used in tandem with Symmetry's Episode Treatment Groups(TM), ERGs let healthcare organizations assess risk and perform other health care analyses using a "common language" in a seamless uniform manner, addressing all management challenges with a comprehensive solution.

Episode Treatment Groups(TM) (ETGs(TM)) and Episode Risk Groups(TM) (ERG(TM)) are protected under United States Patents 5,835,897 and 6,370,511. United States and International patents pending. Visit Symmetry Health Data Systems, Inc. on the Web at http://www.symmetry-health.com .

SOURCE: Symmetry Health Data Systems, Inc.

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